Apple Seeds Seventh Beta of Upcoming tvOS 13 Update to Developers [Update: Public Beta Available]

by

Apple today seeded seventh beta of an upcoming tvOS 13 update to developers, one week after seeding the sixth beta and two months after unveiling the tvOS 13 software at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

Designed for the fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV, the new tvOS 13 developer beta can be downloaded onto the ‌Apple TV‌ via a profile that's installed using Xcode.

tvos13
tvOS 13 introduces an updated Home screen aimed at making it easier to discover new content. Apps are now able to play full-screen video previews right on the Home screen, similar to Netflix.

Multi-user support is available for the first time, letting more than one profile exist on the ‌Apple TV‌ so each family member can have their own customized ‌Apple TV‌ interface with separate recommendations, music playlists, and Watch Now lists.

Switching between profiles can be done with the new Control Center, which offers up profiles, the time and date, search, a Now Playing widget, AirPlay controls, and a sleep option.

tvOS 13 gets the ‌Apple TV‌ ready for Apple Arcade, Apple's new gaming service that's coming to the ‌Apple TV‌, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS later this year. ‌Apple Arcade‌ will offer unlimited access to more than 100 new and exclusive games, for one subscription fee.

As part of the ‌Apple Arcade‌ preparations, Apple has implemented support for the Xbox Wireless Bluetooth Controller and the PlayStation DualShock 4 Controller, both of which can be connected to an ‌Apple TV‌ over Bluetooth.

There are new under the sea themed screensavers created in partnership with the BBC Natural History Unit, which also created "Blue Planet." There's also a new Picture-in-Picture feature. Picture-in-Picture lets you continue to watch TV shows or movies while using a different app, adjusting settings, or otherwise navigating through the tvOS 13 operating system.

tvos13pictureinpicture
tvOS 13 is available to registered developers and public beta testers at this time and will see an official public launch this fall alongside iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, and watchOS 6.

What's new in beta 7: In the new tvOS 13 beta, full screen trailers for movies and TV shows now play in the background of the ‌Apple TV‌ app. This was previously limited to Apple Music, but is a feature that was shown off at WWDC.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Popular Stories

carplay next gen hero

RIP, CarPlay 2?

Sunday December 29, 2024 7:32 am PST by
Apple's website continues to state that the first vehicle models with next-generation CarPlay will "arrive in 2024." With less than three days remaining in the year, however, that timeframe is looking more and more unlikely. It would not be entirely Apple's fault if the stated 2024 target is missed, given that it is ultimately up to automakers to roll out the software in vehicles, but it is...
Read Full Article
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

Five Apple Intelligence Features Coming in 2025

Friday December 27, 2024 2:43 pm PST by
Even though iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 added multiple Apple Intelligence features like Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools, and more, there are still new Apple Intelligence capabilities that we're waiting on. Apple has at least one more major Apple Intelligence update coming in 2025, and the functionality that we're expecting is outlined below. Priority Notifications Notification summaries...
Read Full Article • 113 comments
apple tv plus teaser

Apple Teases Apple TV+ Surprise on January 4 and 5

Thursday December 26, 2024 10:35 am PST by
Apple this week began teasing some kind of upcoming Apple TV+ surprise that's set to happen on January 4 and January 5, telling customers to "stay tuned" and "save the date" in social media posts. Apple's images have a tagline that says "See for yourself," but it isn't clear what Apple has planned. Some users on Reddit have speculated that Apple might be planning to launch a promotion that...
Read Full Article • 58 comments
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

22 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 23, 2024 6:30 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
Sudoku Apple News iOS 18

iOS 18.2 Added a New Game to Your iPhone

Saturday December 28, 2024 12:03 pm PST by
Starting with iOS 18.2, released earlier this month, Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. have access to daily sudoku puzzles in the Apple News app. There are easy, moderate, and challenging difficulty levels for the daily puzzles. A scoreboard tracks your sudoku stats, including your total number of puzzles solved, fastest completion times per difficulty level, and more. Sudoku is the...
Read Full Article
AirTag and Lavender iPhone

AirTag 2 Launching Next Year With These New Features

Tuesday December 24, 2024 8:35 am PST by
Apple is expected to release an AirTag 2 next year, and a few new features and changes have already been rumored for the item tracker. Below, we recap what to expect from the AirTag 2: The new AirTag is expected to be equipped with Apple's second-generation Ultra Wideband chip for longer range. The chip debuted last year in the iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple said it...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Sunday December 22, 2024 8:09 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cites a source within Apple. The report said that iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that is capable of running iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro ...
Read Full Article • 132 comments
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Monday December 23, 2024 4:18 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...
Read Full Article • 64 comments

Top Rated Comments

zantafio Avatar
zantafio
70 months ago
Asphalt 8 finally works again! yay!
[doublepost=1565916567][/doublepost]They still have not fixed the problem of the audio going out of sync when you switch audio out to the homepods!!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JMAndiSmith Avatar
JMAndiSmith
70 months ago
If it’s not the 4K model then you can DFU it and restore TVOS 12
I have both 4K and and none 4K ATVs and once you install Either developer or public bêtas you cannot revert back.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kardinal1911 Avatar
Kardinal1911
70 months ago
Care to explain? Haven’t had any issues on my Apple TV. A few stutters here and there in the first few betas but now it’s working great.
TVOS BETA has been a nightmare for my 4K this one seems to have smoothed things out a lot more
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marshall73 Avatar
Marshall73
70 months ago
EDITED: I have the beta on my Apple TV, but I wish I didn't. I learned the hard way not to use Apple beta software ever again. I became spoiled with 1Password beta updates 'and prior macOS betas that were more stable'. They never hosed my system like Apple's newer beta program. Now, if I had a MacPro with real separate hard drive options, then by all means.
If it’s not the 4K model then you can DFU it and restore TVOS 12
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eorlas Avatar
Eorlas
70 months ago
Don't get me started that user switching isn’t stated available to 3rd party apps.
New features during betas are not available to 3rd party apps. They're not allowed to update with new features until the first non-beta public release.


I have the beta on my Apple TV, but I wish I didn't. I learned the hard way not to use Apple beta software ever again. I became spoiled with 1Passord beta updates that never hosed my system like Apple. Now, if I had a MacPro with real separate had drive options, then by all means.
1Password's beta updates are for a single software, not an operating system. It's not a comparison worth making.

You setup a beta in a use-case that it is specifically not intended for, and warned against. I've been using it since b1, and it is admittedly janky, sometimes more so than others. The major playback issues from b1 & b3 or so are mostly resolved. I've noticed UI lag as a thing that maybe is resolved today, but I haven't had a chance to update yet. There was one beta that required doing a wipe of the system because the update kept failing.

But it's beta of an operating system, not your favorite password management program or web browser. It is never intended to be run on someone's daily driver aTV.

That being said, I hopped on it regardless because I wanted to try out dualshock 4 with Steam Link, and that did not disappoint.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrZippyUK Avatar
MrZippyUK
70 months ago
Let’s hope they’ve actually made some improvements in this beta. User switching is just awful, regularly user images are initially missing when the user switcher is brought up, and switching account in music does nothing until you force quit and relaunch the app. Suspect TV could be the same but hate the TV app so much I can’t bring myself to launch it!

Don't get me started that user switching isn’t stated available to 3rd party apps. So I’m logged in as me on the ATV and Netflix shows play next for someone else as they’re not linked. Yes Netflix couldn’t offer this now as it’s a beta, but this isn’t a feature that will be available when released.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments